The winner will probably be a low poll turnout

It may be that a lot of the mothers are going on to work and will vote when they pick up the children. There has obviously been an expectation of a large turnout as the two Polling Stations my DS and DIL are working at have extra Polling Clerks for this Election. We shall soon know.

I think lots of people, including me, now vote by post

Life is very different now.

However, there is expected to be a relatively poor turnout

But that in no way invalidates the result.

If you don’t vote you must accept the result and government with the knowledge you played no part in the vote.

I voted this morning at about 7.30. I was in a queue behind about 6 or 7 people. There were more people arriving as I left and I noticed on my walk home that there were more people out and about than usual and all of them were clutching a piece of card. It will be interesting to see what the turnout is because, to me, it seemed busier than usual. I know there's quite a big push to overturn Kemi Badenoch's majority of nearly 28,000.

We’ve often found much the same here, hardly anyone there, but I don’t think turnout has ever been particularly low.

Boundary changes mean that although we used to be able to walk to the polling station in ten minutes, it’s now a drive, a bus, or a fairly long walk (steep uphill on the way back!) which is a bit annoying.
Dh has Something Important on this morning, so either we’ll go together later, or I might get the bus on my own. (I always use the (free, frequent) buses rather than drive, whenever possible.’

When I worked full time I would vote in the evening because I didn't have time in the morning.

Voting takes minutes. I always used to vote on my way to work, to be sure I voted, in case anything happened during the day to make later voting impossible.

In this village the route from the school, to all most any work requires driving past the polling station. In fact the village hall is so sited that almost anyone in the village driving to work will drive past it, which is why I expected to see so many more voters.

I predict a low turn out.
Boundary changes appear to have changed our polling station too, although I fail to see why. We used to vote at the church just up the road, and that has remained the same for all of the forty years we have lived here, despite boundary changes over time. However this time our polling station has been moved to a community hall twenty minutes walk away and with poor access for anyone using a wheelchair or mobility scooter, unless they have someone who can drive them there.

I have a postal vote but as its sunny and warm where l am maybe more people come out. When l worked for the LA , l used work the elections.
I have contacted friends this morning who still do them, most stations are not very busy yet.

I somehow fail to see why your voting experience should validate the prediction of a low turnout, MOnica. Not everyone wants to go rushing out to get their vote in early...

While I agree that “a plague on both your houses” or “rock and a hard place” might be responsible for a low turnout, I wouldn’t say that made anything or anybody a winner.

More like lose-lose.

I remember being berated by a D after the Brexit vote where the preponderance of “older” voters was being held responsible for the successful Leave result and pointing out to her that if the %of 18-35’s who voted had been as high, by that criterion Remain would have romped home. (Not that I necessarily agreed with the assumption that the “oldies” had all supported Leave - I certainly didn’t!)

MaizieD

I somehow fail to see why your voting experience should validate the prediction of a low turnout, MOnica. Not everyone wants to go rushing out to get their vote in early...

😄😄 and not everyone is so totally organised as you monica

I shall drift down when I feel like it.

I also think more are opting for postal votes now. It was over 17% at last election, and I know a few who can get out but have opted for postal votes this time. This does reduce numbers at polling stations.
Interestingly those voting by post send in fewer spoiled or disallowed votes than those voting at polling stations.

My son just got an earful from me because I discovered he wasn't registered to vote. His excuse was that he finished his MSc, had a temporary job in one part of the country, then moved back to live with his Dad and has now moved to another part of the country for a permanent job. I told him he'd better to learn to multi-task! Gggrrr!

The irony is that his undergraduate degree was in politics and economics.

I was planning to go later in the day.
So I could tell a bit what turnout had been like, looking at the crossed out or not, names on the sheet.

But circumstances are meaning I will have to go earlier. At a time I dont usually go.

The only people I personally know doing postal, are the elderly. And a younger person gone on holiday.

I was a bit surprised, in this day and age, to find that someone can still go to a polling station with 5 postal votes plus their own.
Just does not feel right to me.

fancythat

I was planning to go later in the day.
So I could tell a bit what turnout had been like, looking at the crossed out or not, names on the sheet.

But circumstances are meaning I will have to go earlier. At a time I dont usually go.

The only people I personally know doing postal, are the elderly. And a younger person gone on holiday.

I was a bit surprised, in this day and age, to find that someone can still go to a polling station with 5 postal votes plus their own.
Just does not feel right to me.

How does that work then? It wouldn’t be allowed here. A postal vote is just that- via the post. Sounds a bit dodgy brothers.

There are so many reasons why postal votes should be abolished unless through ill health or disability. They can be easily manipulated, someone else may complete it or the person on the ballot paper may not even see it. Once you have a postal vote you have it every year with no questions asked, which is so wrong. It's so open to fraud and we are one of the very few countries who allow such a lax voting system.

nanna8

fancythat

I was planning to go later in the day.
So I could tell a bit what turnout had been like, looking at the crossed out or not, names on the sheet.

But circumstances are meaning I will have to go earlier. At a time I dont usually go.

The only people I personally know doing postal, are the elderly. And a younger person gone on holiday.

I was a bit surprised, in this day and age, to find that someone can still go to a polling station with 5 postal votes plus their own.
Just does not feel right to me.

How does that work then? It wouldn’t be allowed here. A postal vote is just that- via the post. Sounds a bit dodgy brothers.

Nope. It's perfectly OK, nanna8. I know because I looked it up a few days ago to respond to someone's query here on Gnet.

You an hand in up to 5 postal votes at a polling station. You can also hand in a proxy postal vote at the polling station for that voter's constituency.

There are some exceptions, but they mostly apply to party activists.

I actually agree with you about postal votes, Chestnut. I think they are wide open to fraud. Voter ID was an absolutely pointless imposition in comparison with the weakness of postal voting.

Also, for this particular election there have been so many problems with postal vote forms being sent out very late, and the unreliability of our once superb postal system, that I think there may be problems in some counts, especially where the result is very close.

I agree with MOnica. It will be a low turn out. I know people who aren't bothering. My elderly neighbour is 82, she's always voted. Not this time. And no , I've not given her the Suffragette earful either. It's up to her.

And I'm aware that just because I know someone who isn't voting doesn't speak for the country. I just have the impression that this election is neither here nor there for many of us.

Not much is going to change for the average person in the street.

My mum and dad are 94 and 95, and they will be voting in person. They haven’t missed an election since 1950, they think it’s their duty to vote. I agree, I’ve got no time for people who don’t unless they are actually physically unable to do so with short notice and couldn’t organise a postal vote.

Rekarie

I agree with MOnica. It will be a low turn out. I know people who aren't bothering. My elderly neighbour is 82, she's always voted. Not this time. And no , I've not given her the Suffragette earful either. It's up to her.

And I'm aware that just because I know someone who isn't voting doesn't speak for the country. I just have the impression that this election is neither here nor there for many of us.

Not much is going to change for the average person in the street.

I disagree with you. It won't happen overnight, but I think there will be change for many people.

Whitewavemark2

MaizieD

I somehow fail to see why your voting experience should validate the prediction of a low turnout, MOnica. Not everyone wants to go rushing out to get their vote in early...

😄😄 and not everyone is so totally organised as you monica

I shall drift down when I feel like it.

Me too.
I always feel that you are so highly organised Monica that you would have made a great master criminal.Is it too late for a career change?😃